10 Artists Who Might Have Influenced "Surf"

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Posted by Chris Tart, Jun 5, 2015 at 01:09pm

Here are 10 possible influences on Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's "SURF."

Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's Surf is a diverse collection of sounds ranging from downtempo jazz to upbeat, theatrical hip hop. The crew is undoubtably influenced by tons of different artists, but who are they?

First and foremost, you can tell that the SOX was influenced by the cast of features that helped them make the album. J. Cole's consciousness, Erykah Badu's soulfulness, Migos' modern swagger, and Busta Rhymes' spitfire are all present on the album, and not just when they themselves are unleashing it.

We can't be sure of exactly who influenced Surf, but there are some uncanny similarities between the sounds Chance and gang used on the album and sounds we know from past music. From worldly rhythms to trippy trumpets, here's an idea of where Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment were acquiring inspiration while they made the album.

10 Artists Who Might Have Influenced "Surf"

10 Artists Who Might Have Influenced "Surf"

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Miles Davis

You probably don't call yourself "Trumpet" without a real solid grasp on Miles Davis' output. While it's safe to just assume that Donnie Trumpet is a Miles fan, his introduction on "Nothing Came to Me" is straight out of the Bitches Brew handbook. It's forward-thinking and trippy, and perfectly placed on the jazzy instrumental.

Weather Report

This jazz fusion act ran in the same circles as Miles Davis' electric bands, and for good reason. Weather Report was an absolutely blitzing fusion act that melted funk, rock, and jazz into something that was as energetic as it was innovative. Check out their work on "Birdland," which sounds as if it could have influenced the Social Experiment track "Just Wait."

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Talking Heads

David Byrne's band Talking Heads were one of the first bands to bring the world beat sound to mainstream America. Fusing new wave, funk, rock, post-punk, and African rhythms together created a sound that took the country, or even the world, by storm. It sounds like Donnie Trumpet and the gang are channeling this sound on "Familiar."

Chance The Rapper once rapped, "Back when Mike Jackson was still Jesus" on his track "Acid Rain." While we could take this alone as admission, the funky upstrokes (and overall melody) in "Familiar" sound totally akin to the Jackson 5's song "I Want You Back." "Go" also sounds like it could have been influenced by Michael Jackson's work some years later when he was making Thriller and Off The Wall.

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Frankie Knuckles

Speaking of "Go," you probably aren't a Chicago-based artist making four-to-the-floor tracks without being influenced by Frankie Knuckles. The Chicago legend helped to put house music on the map in the early 80s, and it's quite possible that "Go" was SOX's way of paying homage to Knuckles, who passed away last year.

Arthur

Well, Arthur wasn't exactly a musical artist, but the TV show surely had an influence on the Social Experiment. Not just because they covered the "Wonderful Everyday" theme song, but because the whole album has that overly positive, sort of musical vibe that Arthur, and shows that are similar, encompass.

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The Lion King Musical

Surf actually sounds more like a Broadway play than just about anything in hip hop.

In an interview with Billboard, Chance The Rapper said, "It's something new. It's a bit of theater. It's a culmination of going to all these dope concerts and seeing cool Broadway plays. A lot of influence has come from The Lion King musical. You could probably tell if you listen to "Arthur." We've been trying to take in all these cool, different outside cultural experiences and make that into a free listenable project. That's the new thing."

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Lee "Scratch" Perry

Perry is a dub reggae legend who changed the way musicians record music. By using the mixing console as an instrument, Perry would drastically distort guitars, drums, and bass to create otherworldly sounds. While Surf doesn't dive too heavily into dub reggae, tracks like "Something Came To Me" have the same vibe Lee was working with in his Jamaican studios. One thing's for sure: Donnie's trumpet would not sound the same if it wasn't for him.

Badu is the only member of this list that was also on the album, but it's for good reason. Her brand of neo-soul is all over this album, from the sultry "Warm Enough" to the very track she's featured on, "Rememory."

Whelp, you can't be a hip hop band and not be influenced by The Roots. As legendary as they are, they might be the only other band that can conquer sounds like Surf does. Black Thought, Questlove, and the rest of the gang paved the way for The Social Experiment to come in and do their thing. Maybe there'll be a torch-passing in our lifetime?

Here are 10 possible influences on Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's "SURF."

Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment's Surf is a diverse collection of sounds ranging from downtempo jazz to upbeat, theatrical hip hop. The crew is undoubtably influenced by tons of different artists, but who are they?

First and foremost, you can tell that the SOX was influenced by the cast of features that helped them make the album. J. Cole's consciousness, Erykah Badu's soulfulness, Migos' modern swagger, and Busta Rhymes' spitfire are all present on the album, and not just when they themselves are unleashing it.

We can't be sure of exactly who influenced Surf, but there are some uncanny similarities between the sounds Chance and gang used on the album and sounds we know from past music. From worldly rhythms to trippy trumpets, here's an idea of where Donnie Trumpet & The Social Experiment were acquiring inspiration while they made the album.